The evolution of multimedia networks such as an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) network has resulted in the quick and efficient creation and deployment of services over the network to the network devices of the users of the network.
Within the context of such networks, there is a trend towards the definition of communities or groups, with network-based services being established between different members of the group or even between all members of the group, e.g. social networking, video conferencing, group-shared video streaming, multiplayer gaming, internet protocol television (IPTV), voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and audio conferencing.
However, a problem associated with such shared services is that it requires that all network devices, i.e. all users of these devices, have access to such services. This is not always the case, because the subscription of a service by a network device in a group is not necessarily linked to the services subscribed by other network devices present in the group. In other words, it is likely that different members of the group have access to different levels of network services, which for instance may be the result of different users subscribing to different service packages, e.g. gold, silver, platinum packages, which typically unlocks different services for the network device subscribed to different packages. This can hamper or even prohibit the sharing of services between different network devices in such a group.